1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to transmitting data via a network. More particularly the invention relates to altering the transmission characteristics of a streaming media server based upon the occurrence of selected conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Streaming media is a method of making audio, video, and other multimedia data available in real-time, over a network. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical streaming media system. If the source of the streaming media is a live performance, the performance is often recorded as a data signal by an input device, such as, for example, a microphone 102 or a camera 104. The input device then sends the data signal to an encoding system 106 which converts the data signal into a digital form and compresses the digital signal into streamable data objects 107. The streamable data objects 107 may be sent to a content creation station 108 for editing or may alternatively be sent directly to a streaming media server 110. The content creation station 108 includes content creation software, such as video editing software, that allows the user to modify the streamable data objects 107. The content creation station 108 can also be used to independently create a streamable data objects 107. After being modified or created by the content creation station 108, the streamable data objects 107 may then be transmitted to the streaming media server 110.
Once the streamable data objects 107 are located on the streaming media server 110, the streamable data objects 107 are made available for further distribution and presentation over a network 116, such as the Internet, to a number of client computers 115. One problem, however, related to transmitting streamable data objects over a network is that when the streamable media server 110 may become “overloaded” number of client computers requesting the streamable data objects 107 becomes too high. In that case, the streamable media server is not able to transmit the data packets of the streamable data objects 107 in a timely manner. During peak hours, thousands of client computers 115 can simultaneously request the transmission of selected ones of the streamable data objects 107. In such cases, numerous of the client computers 115 may have to wait in the middle of the presentation of the respective streamable data objects for the transmission of additional data packets, thereby creating an unpleasant interruption for the user.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method that improves the presentation of streamable data objects to users. The system should determine the system conditions and modify the process of transmitting the data packets from the streaming media server 110 to the client computers 115, thereby improving the presentation of streamable data objects to users at the client computers 115.